rationale "A sense of place"
The aim was to enhance an existing public place in the community through innovative furniture. This was successfully done through my design of a seating with an in-built slide table.
The inspiration for this design came from what birds fear of, so they would not land on the furniture and leave behind droppings which have become a negative impact to the park particularly near the pond, resulting with no one sitting on the benches or picnic tables. My research provided the cobra snake as a great threat to birds as well as the colour red, so I combined the two to create a functional and asethetically pleasing as well as innovative design.
The location I chose to improve on is a local park in Burwood—“Burwood Park” inner west suburb 2134. Many locals visit the park throughout the day whether to meditate, exercise, picnic or play, however due to the great population of birds—sea gulls, pigeons and ibises they have inhabited a particular area of the park—the pond where they leave droppings all over the seats—causing a problem to the users of the park.
Pest birds cause billions of dollars in damage, maintenance, repairs, liability and health risks at facilities each year. Visual deterrent products are a quick, easy-to-install, cost-effective, low-maintenance way to prevent pest bird infestation. So I included this into my design by making it look like a snake on the side view as well as having the colour red (birds are afraid of red) on the seat.
The cobra-snake inspired seat design also has an inbuilt side swing table for your drinks and newspaper under the second layer. It is also created to be a universal design, accessible for children as well as elderly. Easy to maintain as it is entirely made out of sheets of steel and painted red, mass manufactured durable in all weather conditions and comfortable for the user through the ergonomically tested shape of the seat. The organic look of the shape also adds the natural sense of a park feel
This creates a new outdoor lifestyle as this furniture piece provides a modern twist in the eye of a public space, inviting families, couples and children to come and have a seat and enjoy the water view without having birds coming and leaving their dropping behind. I believe that this is suited to Burwood park, since it has been around for many decades there have been alterations added such as street lights, fences and coverage—always being re-newed so having this seating furniture would bring the park more life as it adds a modern touch to it, drawing more attention to the quiet areas of the park. This encourages more locals to sit, be social and relax by the pond without having the trouble of birds’ dropping on the seat.
further info/research:
Dr. Rob Fergus is an ornithologist who specializes in urban ecology and human/wildlife interactions. Dr. Fergus received his Ph.D. in urban bird conservation from the University of Texas at Austin.
The major complaints about bird droppings are not only unsightly or smelly, but the concerns about furniture damage, as well as potential health risks.
Most of the time this is the real problem with bird droppings—we just don’t want to see them. Bird droppings become more of a problem when public furniture was placed in parks and streets- where birds come to sit frequently and do their duty. If bird droppings are accumulating the first thing to look at is how to alter the landscape so that the birds can’t physically come and sit where they are making the mess. This may be done with architectural or structural modifications to a building or some other physical deterrents to keep the birds from being able to land where they want to sit.
Property Damage Bird droppings are acidic, which may cause some damage, but for automobiles the greater damage is done when car finishes expand in the sun and then contract around the dried bird dropping. When birds eat berries, their droppings may stain paint or wood.
Potential Health Risks It may carry dozens of disease organisms that can be transmitted to people. Risk to most people is usually small, but may be greater for young people, old people, and those with compromised immune systems. Histoplasmosis is a disease caused by a contact with or inhalation of a fungus which grows on bird and bat droppings. Cryptococcosis is another fungal disease contracted mostly by breathing in the fungal cells of Cryptococcus neoformans growing on bird droppings. They are the two most common dieseases carried in bird droppings.
